EP2869491A1 - Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk - Google Patents

Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP2869491A1
EP2869491A1 EP20130382440 EP13382440A EP2869491A1 EP 2869491 A1 EP2869491 A1 EP 2869491A1 EP 20130382440 EP20130382440 EP 20130382440 EP 13382440 A EP13382440 A EP 13382440A EP 2869491 A1 EP2869491 A1 EP 2869491A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
mtc
cells
subframes
downlink
uplink
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP20130382440
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Javier LORCA HERNANDO
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonica SA
Original Assignee
Telefonica SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonica SA filed Critical Telefonica SA
Priority to EP20130382440 priority Critical patent/EP2869491A1/de
Publication of EP2869491A1 publication Critical patent/EP2869491A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L5/00—Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
    • H04L5/003—Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/40—Connection management for selective distribution or broadcast
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management
    • H04W72/12—Wireless traffic scheduling
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/40—Connection management for selective distribution or broadcast
    • H04W76/45—Connection management for selective distribution or broadcast for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/70—Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Definitions

  • the present invention generally relates to the field of Machine-Type Communications (MTC), and more specifically, to a method, a communication system and a controller node for the support of Machine-Type Communications (MTC) in a LTE wireless network with tight requirements on coverage and power saving capabilities.
  • MTC Machine-Type Communications
  • LTE Long-Term Evolution
  • 3G Third-Generation
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project
  • LTE is also expected to improve spectral efficiency in networks, allowing carriers to provide more data and voice services over a given bandwidth.
  • LTE-A LTE-Advanced
  • IMT International Mobile Telecommunications
  • MTC Machine-Type Communications
  • MTC refers to the type of traffic generated by (or directed to) a number of connected machines (such as remote sensors, vending machines, vehicles, and so on) in a given cell, and the possible enhancements in coverage and capacity required for the support of a large number of such devices.
  • MTC requirements were addressed by 3GPP since Release 8, focusing on GSM and UMTS [2], but LTE has also given attention to MTC in Release 10 and Release 11 [3] [4] [5].
  • MTC traffic is characterized by having very low bit rate requirements (on the order of few kbps), high latencies (on the order of seconds), and a possibly large number of almost inactive devices camped in a single cell.
  • a method for the support of Machine-Type Communications (MTC) in a LTE wireless network wherein at least one MTC user device is connected to a base station through a radio interface.
  • MTC Machine-Type Communications
  • the method of the first aspect in order to extend coverage and enable the support of a plurality of other MTC user devices comprises:
  • the invention determines as many controller nodes as many of said set of cells are determined in the LTE wireless network.
  • an extended cyclic prefix length structure so as to prevent inter-symbol interference from far LTE base stations, is used for the uplink and downlink subframes reserved for MTC traffic.
  • this preferred characteristic will be exploited in order to support the combined transmission and reception of MTC signals by the cells that comprise an MTC Synchronization Area.
  • MTC subframes in uplink and downlink may have different patterns in order to support asymmetric uplink/downlink traffic.
  • a subset of the downlink MBSFN subframes reserved for MTC traffic includes MTC scheduling information to said MTC user device within said set of cells, and a subset of said downlink MBSFN subframes reserved for MTC traffic includes MTC data towards said MTC user device within said set of cells, being the subset of subframes including data different from said subset of subframes including MTC scheduling information.
  • the MTC scheduling information informs of the actual subframes in use and of the resource blocks allocated to said MTC user device in said set of cells.
  • the set of cells as a preferred option are connected to the controller node, which is connected to at least a Packet Data Network Gateway node or a Serving Gateway node of said LTE wireless network, through a S1 or an X2 interface.
  • information about which subset of MBSFN downlink subframes are reserved for MTC traffic is broadcasted through system information by a control channel. This information would be released by a PBCH broadcast channel that habitually radiates the required cell parameters to operate; in this case would add this indication specifically for support of MTC.
  • the MTC user device may be allowed to turn off transmission and reception during subframes other than those dedicated to MTC traffic, irrespective of the Discontinuous Reception configurations of the cell, hence obtaining enhanced power saving capabilities.
  • a communication system for the support of Machine-Type Communications (MTC) in a LTE wireless network comprising at least one base station, and at least one MTC user device connected to said base station.
  • MTC Machine-Type Communications
  • the system further including:
  • a controller node comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein said at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with said at least one processor, cause the controller node to at least coordinate transmission and reception of at least one synchronized set of cells, that simultaneously broadcast MTC traffic transmissions thereof towards at least one MTC user device and detect uplink MTC data sent from said MTC user device by scheduling downlink MTC data to said MTC user device on a subset of Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network downlink subframes reserved for MTC downlink traffic within said set of cells; scheduling uplink MTC data to said MTC user device in some uplink subframes reserved for MTC traffic within said set of cells, said subframes containing, merely, data scheduled for MTC user devices; sending to said set of cells downlink MTC subframes, named as MTC MBSFN subframes, and combining the simultaneously detected uplink MTC data from said set of cells.
  • the controller node of the third aspect includes means for connecting with said at least one synchronized set of cells through at least a S1 or an X2 interface. Furthermore, it includes means for connecting with at least a Packet Data Network Gateway node or a Serving Gateway node of a LTE wireless network.
  • the present invention proposes a new radio access entity to coordinate transmission and reception within a cluster or set of cells where MTC traffic is collectively served, and the use of a special subframe structure for optimized radio resource management in both uplink and downlink.
  • Uplink MTC transmissions are designed so as to be received by all the cells comprising the cluster, and later combined for improved coverage, while downlink MTC subframes leverage on so-called Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframes for improved reception within the cluster.
  • MMSFN Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network
  • Fig. 1 illustrates the basic concept of the proposed invention in which an LTE radio access network is aimed at providing efficient connectivity to a number of MTC devices in a transparent way.
  • a cluster of cells denoted in what follows as an MTC Synchronization Area, is defined as a set of cells that coordinate transmissions for MTC traffic in both uplink and downlink directions.
  • a new logical entity denoted in what follows as MTC Controller (MTCC, depicted in fig. 1 with solid lines), is introduced with the purpose of coordinating resources for MTC devices camped in any of the cells that comprise a given MTC Synchronization Area.
  • the MTCC would be preferably connected to the P-GW or the S-GW nodes (in dashed lines) prior to connecting to the Internet or operator IP services.
  • Downlink coverage can therefore be greatly improved by exploiting multi-cell transmissions from the cells contained in the MTC Synchronization Area, through use of a subset of MBSFN subframes reserved for MTC downlink traffic. In what follows these subframes will be denoted as MTC MBSFN subframes.
  • uplink MTC traffic can be restricted to specific subframes not carrying any other traffic type.
  • uplink transmissions from a single MTC device can be simultaneously received by all the cells comprising an MTC Synchronization Area, and proper combination of the signals at a physical or higher level by the MTCC node will enhance uplink coverage as in the downlink case.
  • uplink subframes reserved for MTC traffic will be denoted as MTC uplink subframes.
  • Non-MTC subframes corresponding to legacy unicast transmissions
  • MBSFN subframes corresponding to legacy multicast/broadcast data transmissions
  • MTC MBSFN subframes which are a subset of MBSFN subframes proposed by the present invention to carry dedicated downlink MTC traffic.
  • Non-MTC subframes corresponding to legacy unicast transmissions
  • MTC subframes proposed by the present invention to carry dedicated uplink MTC traffic.
  • Time-division multiplexing of non-MTC and MTC subframes enables having a different subframe structure for MTC traffic in order to exploit the particular characteristics of MTC without impacting legacy LTE behavior.
  • Enhanced power saving capabilities can also be obtained by allowing devices to turn off transmission and reception during subframes other than those dedicated to MTC traffic. Paging occasions for MTC devices will also be concentrated on MTC MBSFN subframes so that devices can enter into a power saving state during the remaining subframes.
  • Scheduling of both uplink and downlink MTC traffic can be provided as stand-alone information in certain MTC downlink subframes, denoted in what follows as MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes.
  • MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes This allows for having a large number of MTC devices in the same MTC Synchronization Area without suffering from the limited capacity of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).
  • PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel
  • Actual MTC downlink data will be delivered by the remaining MTC MBSFN subframes, denoted in what follows as MTC MBSFN Data subframes.
  • the high latency and low bit rate requirements of MTC traffic allow for centralizing the scheduling information in specific subframes without significant impact on the overall end-to-end delay.
  • the cells that comprise an MTC Synchronization Area will be tightly time-synchronized in such a way that downlink transmissions will arrive at the user within the length of the cyclic prefix (CP), and an MTC receiver will observe multiple versions of the signal with different delays due to multi-cell transmission.
  • cells belonging to different MTC Synchronization Areas are not required to be time-synchronized by the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 it is illustrated a possible scenario for applicability of the proposed invention.
  • a (possibly high) number of MTC devices are camped in an LTE radio access network, each characterized by having a very low traffic profile, high latency and also low mobility conditions.
  • the aim of the present invention is to provide means for efficient communication to/from multiple MTC devices, by surpassing the limitations of the legacy LTE subframe structure in order to increase the coverage and capacity without impacting other non-MTC devices.
  • a number of modifications aimed at addressing MTC traffic in a more efficient way are proposed:
  • the defined MTC Synchronization Area is characterized by tight time-synchronization of the cells involved, in such a way that the users will receive multiple copies of the same MTC MBSFN subframes.
  • the extended cyclic prefix structure foreseen by MBSFN subframes is exploited.
  • the User Equipment (UE) will therefore combine multiple received signals from several cells and coverage will be improved.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates the enhancement of downlink coverage provided by multi-cell reception of downlink MTC signals, where MTC MBSFN subframes are combined from multiple cells with a maximum delay spread within the cyclic prefix length.
  • uplink traffic from MTC devices is collectively received by all the cells that form an MTC Synchronization Area. Devices at the cell edges will thus benefit from enhanced coverage through proper combination of the uplink signals by the MTCC.
  • Uplink signals are sent by the cells to the controlling MTCC node through any suitable interface, and combination can be performed at a physical or higher level in a macrodiversity fashion.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates the improvement in uplink coverage brought by suitable combination of uplink signals.
  • downlink MTC traffic will be served by the MTCC towards the relevant cells in a synchronized way. This is illustrated in figure 5 , where downlink MTC traffic is synchronously sent through proper interfaces between the eNodeBs and the MTCC. These interfaces may be based upon legacy X2 or S1 interfaces, not precluding any other possibility according to implementation needs.
  • each MTC device will camp in only one cell (thus receiving control information from a single cell), detection of user data will be enhanced by combining the signals to/from multiple cells.
  • the proposed structure allows for decoupling downlink and uplink MTC traffic by having different subframe patterns for each direction. In this way it is possible to cope with asymmetrical traffic patterns that may appear with MTC devices. MTC devices will be able to turn off their receivers during subframes not scheduled for MTC downlink traffic, in addition to standard discontinuous reception (DRX) schemes. This enhances LTE power saving capabilities by exploiting the highly bursty nature of MTC traffic.
  • DRX discontinuous reception
  • Fig. 6 illustrates the proposed concept of MTC Synchronization Area.
  • a number of neighbouring cells are fully coordinated in such a way that they collectively appear as a single "super cell” from the viewpoint of MTC devices camped on any of the constituent cells.
  • Coordination within the MTC Synchronization Area takes place at several levels:
  • MBSFN subframes are especial subframes reserved for multicast/broadcast multimedia services (MBMS) as delivered by the radio access network (such as mobile TV, advertising or weather services, among others).
  • MBSFN subframes are time-multiplexed with non-MBSFN subframes according to semi-static configuration, and benefit from an extended cyclic prefix in order to avoid inter-symbol interference.
  • LTE devices are required to detect MBSFN subframes so as to distinguish them from normal traffic and, depending on the subscription type and device capabilities, whether decode broadcast services or not.
  • MTC MBSFN subframes carrying MTC data are denoted as MTC MBSFN subframes in the present invention.
  • MTC traffic may not use Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) when the device is in bad radio conditions. Instead, a fixed pattern of retransmissions may be employed without ACK or NACK indications from the receiver side. However, it can be left to implementation whether to use HARQ or not. The same applies to link adaptation, eventually leaving a fixed transmission format for MTC devices in poor coverage in order to avoid costly signaling of channel state information (CSI). Any possibility will be equally valid for the purpose of the present invention depending on implementations needs.
  • HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request
  • Coordination within an MTC Synchronization Area refers only to MTC traffic. Data to/from non-MTC devices will follow standard LTE procedures. In addition, cell synchronization and initial random access by MTC devices will also follow the standard procedures through Primary/Secondary Synchronization Signals (PSS/SSS) and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), as devices will not know the actual MTC MBSFN configuration prior to initial access.
  • PSS/SSS Primary/Secondary Synchronization Signals
  • PRACH Physical Random Access Channel
  • the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) present in non-MTC subframes will also be monitored by MTC devices for acquisition of system information. Similarly, the timing advance procedure will be managed by the serving cell; all other cells in the MTC Synchronization Area will only contribute to improvements in the detection process provided that the time differences between users are within the cyclic prefix length.
  • downlink MTC data towards a device will be broadcast by all the cells that comprise an MTC Synchronization Area (including the serving cell).
  • the device needs not be aware of the actual broadcast operation, but enjoy a better signal quality without changing the association with the serving cell.
  • uplink all the cells will contribute to enhanced detection, but each device will behave as though information were sent to a single cell at specific subframes with improved detection properties.
  • the MBSFN pattern in use by all the cells is provided through broadcast of system information, thus indicating which subframes in each frame are actually MBSFN subframes [7].
  • This configuration is semi-static and can change over time according to traffic needs.
  • This invention proposes to extend the system information contents so as to also indicate which of the foreseen MBSFN subframes are actually reserved for MTC traffic within an MTC Synchronization Area. Any procedure for signaling this information will be equally valid for the present invention, such as extending any suitable System Information Block (SIB) or introducing a new one, provided that the same extended control information would be broadcast by all the cells that comprise an MTC Synchronization Area.
  • SIB System Information Block
  • Each MTC Synchronization Area would possibly have a different pattern of MTC MBSFN subframes according to the amount of MTC traffic.
  • Legacy non-MBSFN devices will ignore these MTC MBSFN subframes as part of MBSFN traffic.
  • Non-MTC devices willing to receive MBSFN subframes will only pay attention to those MBSFN subframes not carrying MTC traffic according to higher-layer MBMS scheduling [7]. Therefore backwards compatibility can be ensured with minimal impact towards legacy devices.
  • Fig. 7 illustrates the proposed architecture extension for introduction of the MTC Controller node (MTCC).
  • MTCC MTC Controller node
  • a number of cells comprising an MTC Synchronization Area will be coordinated by a single MTCC node, which in turn will be preferably connected to the Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW). Connection to the Serving Gateway (S-GW) can be optionally provided (in dashed lines) should the number of MTCC nodes were too high to be all connected directly to the P-GW.
  • P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway
  • S-GW Serving Gateway
  • MTC Synchronization Areas there will be as MTC Synchronization Areas in the network.
  • the MTCC serves as an anchor point for user mobility within an MTC Synchronization Area. Depending on its size it may be necessary to connect the MTCC with the S-GW, but given the low mobility requirements of MTC devices it may be preferable to directly connect it to the P-GW for data offloading towards external networks.
  • An additional connection to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) allows for granting access or not to a given MTC device depending on admission and congestion strategies.
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • actual implementations may co-locate the MTCC with other network nodes like S-GW or MME.
  • the MTCC node should have the following functions:
  • Mobility between cells will be managed in a standard way, but the MTCC would keep track of MTC devices in order to perform the necessary registrations and deregistrations whenever a device enters or leaves its MTC Synchronization Area. Given the very low mobility requirements foreseen for MTC devices, it is expected that the associated control overhead is very low.
  • Figure 8 shows the proposed subframe structure for MTC MBSFN subframes.
  • the extended cyclic prefix is used ( ⁇ 17 microseconds, according to normal MBSFN operation) for absorbing physical transmissions from far cells.
  • 12 OFDM symbols are available in each subframe, out of which the first one or two symbols must be reserved for legacy (non-MTC) control channels (PDCCH) and signals (namely cell reference signals).
  • PDCCH legacy control channels
  • signals namely cell reference signals
  • These first OFDM symbols must be devoted to PDCCH for handover measurements, employing the same cyclic prefix length as that used in non-MBSFN subframes, and also carrying legacy uplink resource grants. Therefore, when normal CP is used a gap ⁇ t is created between the end of the control region and the start of the extended CP part. In 20 MHz system bandwidths the normal CP length is 144 or 160 samples (depending on the symbol number), while the extended CP length is 512 samples.
  • the remaining 10 OFDM symbols can be devoted to MTC-specific information, with a number of resource blocks (RBs) being allocated to each of the served MTC devices.
  • Resource allocation information for each MTC device will be signaled by MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes, as explained below.
  • MTC MBSFN reference signal MTC MBSFN reference signal
  • Fig. 9 illustrates a possible MTC MBSFN RS structure, where one resource element (RE) every two is devoted to reference signals.
  • RE resource element
  • Non-MTC devices not supporting MBMS are required to detect and discard MBSFN subframes, and will not be impacted by MTC traffic.
  • non-MTC devices willing to receive MBSFN subframes will not decode MTC MBSFN subframes, as higher-layer MBMS signaling will schedule MBMS channels at subframes other than those reserved for MTC. For this to happen, proper configuration of MBMS channels will be necessary in order to avoid collisions between MTC and MBMS traffic.
  • MTC MBSFN subframes shall be dedicated to carrying MTC scheduling information, including the actual subframes and RBs allocated to each MTC device in an MTC Synchronization Area, for both uplink and downlink. This information will be delivered by MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes.
  • a simple scheduling format may be devised that takes advantage of the reduced number of transmission modes to be used for MTC devices (not likely addressing any MIMO techniques or precoding schemes). This invention does not consider any specific scheduling format for this purpose.
  • MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes will also be broadcast through system information by all the cells comprising an MTC Synchronization Area. These subframes can have a higher or lower periodicity depending on the amount of MTC traffic to serve. All MTC devices should listen at MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes in order to know the actual subframes and resource blocks scheduled for them. Appropriate DRX can be applied in between for battery saving (although legacy PDCCH should also be monitored with a certain periodicity for acquisition of system information). Devices in idle state can also monitor MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes for paging information.
  • Fig. 10 illustrates an example periodicity pattern expected for MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes.
  • MTC devices will only transmit uplink information at the subframes indicated by the MTC scheduling information. However initial random access to the serving cell will be performed with the aid of the PRACH channel in the same way as legacy LTE devices.
  • MTC MBSFN Data subframes The remaining MTC MBSFN subframes (denoted as MTC MBSFN Data subframes) can be devoted to MTC downlink user data. In these subframes data are simply allocated to each of the scheduled RBs for the set of active MTC devices registered in an MTC Synchronization Area.
  • Data scheduled for different MTC devices may have different MCS formats according to the changing radio conditions.
  • a fixed MCS format may be employed in order to simplify channel state information feedback. Any possibilities in between can be considered for actual implementations, such as deriving long-term channel state through uplink measurements, without departure from the ideas proposed in this invention.
  • Fig. 11 illustrates a possible subframe structure for uplink MTC traffic. Traffic from non-MTC terminals will not be scheduled in these subframes, as the physical structure is changed so as to exploit the particular characteristics of MTC traffic.
  • an extended cyclic prefix is proposed to be used in MTC uplink subframes. This contrasts with legacy uplink operation where a constant cyclic prefix is employed in all uplink subframes.
  • the rationale for the extended cyclic prefix is the ability to absorb timing advance differences which may arise from devices that are far away from each other within an MTC Synchronization Area. However the timing advance to be used by each MTC device will be controlled by its corresponding serving cell within the MTC Synchronization Area. All other cells will only contribute to the detection process.
  • Fig. 12 illustrates the case where uplink transmissions from two distant MTC devices are received by a given cell within the MTC Synchronization Area.
  • BS1 and BS2 synchronously transmit the same MTC contents at MTC MBSFN subframes.
  • UE1 will transmit MTC subframes with a given timing advance TA1 controlled by BS1, and the same will happen with UE2, in order to compensate for the corresponding propagation delays.
  • BS1 will also detect the uplink signal from UE2 (denoted as UE2 RX1 in fig. 12 ), with a significant delay ⁇ t caused by the excess propagation distance. This delay should be lower than the extended cyclic prefix duration in order to preserve uplink orthogonality.
  • the preferred extended cyclic prefix ( ⁇ 17 microseconds) allows for propagation differences corresponding to 5 km, and therefore this would be the practical limit for the size of any MTC Synchronization Area.
  • the cells within the MTC Synchronization Area will be involved in uplink detection, large propagation delays between distant devices might destroy the orthogonality in uplink should the time difference between them were greater than the cyclic prefix duration.
  • the MTCC will avoid scheduling of uplink resources for non-MTC devices in MTC uplink subframes.
  • Legacy devices need not be aware of the special subframe structure proposed for uplink MTC, provided that no legacy traffic will be present in those subframes.
  • Semi-persistent scheduling configurations that could force non-MTC devices to transmit at MTC uplink subframes should also be avoided.
  • uplink HARQ retransmissions should never take place in MTC uplink subframes.
  • One way of achieving this is acknowledging a previous transmission and delaying retransmission to a later subframe, by means of explicit PDCCH grant overriding the previous acknowledgement [11].
  • MTC Demodulation Reference Signals MTC DMRS
  • Fig. 13 illustrates a possible MTC DMRS structure similar to that proposed for MTC MBSFN RS. Many other possibilities can also be considered provided that low mobility and small coherence bandwidths are supported.
  • Fig. 14 illustrates a particular exemplary embodiment of the proposed invention.
  • Prior art elements are depicted in dashed lines (as the MTC device and the base station), while new nodes and blocks are in solid lines.
  • An MTC device 141 wants to exchange MTC data with an LTE serving base station 142 belonging to an MTC Synchronization Area, and is in turn connected to an MTCC node 143.
  • the MTC device 141 and the base station 142 are connected through the radio interface, whereas the base stations and the MTCC 143 are connected through any physical interface (based on X2, S1, or any other suitable interface).
  • the MTC device 141 generates uplink MTC traffic 1412 which is received by the serving base station 142 through block 1422, as well as by the other cells contained in the same MTC Synchronization Area 144.
  • UL MTC subframes from all the cells are in turn sent to the MTCC node 143, which combines the UL data for improved detection 1434.
  • MTC traffic is then forwarded towards the P-GW by passing through the necessary LTE core network elements and interfaces.
  • the MTCC 143 Based on a given MTC configuration, the MTCC 143 performs the scheduling of resources for uplink and downlink MTC traffic 1431. With this information, block 1432 generates MTC MBSFN Scheduling subframes, and block 1433 generates MTC MBSFN Data subframes. Both types of MTC MBSFN subframes are then sent to all the base stations comprising the MTC Synchronization Area through the physical interface. Block 1421 in the base station broadcasts MTC MBSFN subframes, and the MTC device 141 receives DL MTC traffic through proper decoding of MTC MBSFN subframes 1411. This block 1411 receives MTC MBSFN subframes from the serving base station 142 as well as from all other base stations contained in the MTC Synchronization Area, and combines them appropriately. The resulting downlink MTC traffic is then forwarded to the application.
  • the proposed embodiment can be implemented as a collection of software elements, hardware elements, firmware elements, or a suitable combination of them.
  • the proposed invention introduces the idea of synchronizing all traffic to/from MTC devices for coordinated transmission and reception in a given cluster of cells, denoted as MTC Synchronization Area, under control of a new node denoted as MTC Controller (MTCC).
  • MTC Synchronization Area a new node denoted as MTC Controller (MTCC).
  • MTC Controller MTC Controller
  • This cluster allows for uplink combining of MTC signals for improved detection, as well as simultaneous broadcast of MTC downlink signals.
  • MTCC MTC Controller
  • This cluster allows for uplink combining of MTC signals for improved detection, as well as simultaneous broadcast of MTC downlink signals.
  • a special subframe structure is proposed which is time-multiplexed with legacy LTE subframes, exploiting MBSFN subframes in the downlink case and a new subframe structure in the uplink. This enables interoperability with legacy LTE devices, which would discard downlink MTC subframes and would not be scheduled in the new uplink subframes reserved for M
  • MBSFN subframes preferably enjoy an extended cyclic prefix structure by which downlink signals from distant base stations can be combined without suffering from inter-symbol interference. This characteristic is exploited for MTC traffic. Instead of relying on the PDCCH, scheduling information is concentrated on specific downlink subframes. This structure allows scheduling a large number of MTC devices within the MTC Synchronization Area, while the high latency expected for MTC traffic would not be impacted significantly. Moreover, a specific reference signal structure is introduced that exploits the very low mobility conditions of MTC devices, thus alleviating the RS density in the time domain. Other cell-specific procedures like random access or cell selection would remain unchanged for compatibility with non-MTC devices.
  • Uplink MTC data will also rely upon scheduling of resources by the MTCC node. Uplink MTC subframes will benefit from a different subframe structure with extended cyclic prefix for absorbing any Timing Advance differences, as well as new reference signals more suited to MTC conditions. Non-MTC uplink traffic will not collide with uplink MTC traffic whenever the MTCC assigns different subframes for each traffic type. The MTCC will be in charge of coordinating MTC and non-MTC resources, informing the base stations appropriately, as well as combining uplink MTC signals for improved coverage.
  • the changes proposed in this invention enable the support of large numbers of MTC devices, with orthogonal resource assignments within an MTC Synchronization Area, thereby improving uplink and downlink coverage.
  • the proposed subframe structure enables enhanced support of low bit rate, low mobility, and high latency MTC traffic without significantly impacting legacy LTE operation.
  • the pattern of MTC subframes can easily be adjusted by changing the system information in order to adapt to the traffic conditions.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
EP20130382440 2013-10-31 2013-10-31 Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk Withdrawn EP2869491A1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20130382440 EP2869491A1 (de) 2013-10-31 2013-10-31 Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20130382440 EP2869491A1 (de) 2013-10-31 2013-10-31 Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2869491A1 true EP2869491A1 (de) 2015-05-06

Family

ID=49578243

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP20130382440 Withdrawn EP2869491A1 (de) 2013-10-31 2013-10-31 Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2869491A1 (de)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105916172A (zh) * 2016-04-07 2016-08-31 上海华为技术有限公司 一种信息上报的方法、终端设备及系统
WO2017036328A1 (zh) * 2015-09-01 2017-03-09 中兴通讯股份有限公司 发送、接收低时延业务的配置信息的方法和装置
WO2017180395A1 (en) * 2016-04-11 2017-10-19 Qualcomm Incorporated Synchronization for standalone lte broadcast carrier
WO2018203898A1 (en) * 2017-05-03 2018-11-08 Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy Sharing of radio resources between mtc and non-mtc using sharing patterns
US10200839B2 (en) * 2014-03-21 2019-02-05 Alcatel Lucent Method and apparatus for low cost machine type communication
WO2019029283A1 (zh) * 2017-08-11 2019-02-14 中兴通讯股份有限公司 一种解调参考信号的配置方法和装置、设备、存储介质
WO2020019210A1 (zh) * 2018-07-25 2020-01-30 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Mtc系统的物理信道传输方法、装置及存储介质
WO2020190818A1 (en) * 2019-03-15 2020-09-24 Novinium, Inc. Fluid injection system with smart injection and receiver tanks

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2523366A2 (de) * 2010-01-06 2012-11-14 Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute Mechanisches kommunikationssystem
US20120327894A1 (en) 2011-06-27 2012-12-27 Joakim Axmon Cellular Communication System Support for Limited Bandwidth Communication Devices
WO2013051350A1 (ja) 2011-10-07 2013-04-11 ソニー株式会社 無線通信装置及び無線通信方法、並びに無線通信システム
WO2013073924A1 (en) * 2011-11-18 2013-05-23 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Low bandwidth machine type communication in a long term evolution network
US20130155954A1 (en) * 2011-12-14 2013-06-20 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Method and apparatus for triggering machine type communications applications

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2523366A2 (de) * 2010-01-06 2012-11-14 Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute Mechanisches kommunikationssystem
US20120327894A1 (en) 2011-06-27 2012-12-27 Joakim Axmon Cellular Communication System Support for Limited Bandwidth Communication Devices
WO2013051350A1 (ja) 2011-10-07 2013-04-11 ソニー株式会社 無線通信装置及び無線通信方法、並びに無線通信システム
WO2013073924A1 (en) * 2011-11-18 2013-05-23 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Low bandwidth machine type communication in a long term evolution network
US20130155954A1 (en) * 2011-12-14 2013-06-20 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Method and apparatus for triggering machine type communications applications

Non-Patent Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"Coverage analysis and evaluation on PDSCH/PUSCH and Reference Signals for low-cost MTC UEs", 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #72BIS, R1-130888
"Facilitating Machine to Machine Communication in 3GPP Systems", 3GPP TR 22.868, March 2007 (2007-03-01)
"Feasibility of coverage extension of physical channels for MTC devices", 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #72, R1-130462
"LTE, the UMTS Long Term Evolution: From Theory to Practice", 2011, JOHN WILEY & SONS
"Service requirements for Machine-Type Communications (MTC", 3GPP TS 22.368
"Study Item on the provision of low-cost MTC UEs based on LTE", 3GPP TSG RAN #57, RP-121441
"Study on Enhancements to Machine-Type Communications (MTC) and other Mobile Data Applications; Radio Access Network (RAN) aspects", 3GPP TR 37.869 V0.2.0, April 2013 (2013-04-01)
"Study on provision of low-cost MTC UEs based on LTE", 3GPP TR 36.888 V2.0.0, June 2012 (2012-06-01)
"Study on RAN Improvements for Machine-type Communications", 3GPP TR 37.868, September 2011 (2011-09-01)
E. DAHLMAN; S. PARKVALL; J. SKÖLD: "4G: LTE/LTE-Advanced for Mobile Broadband", 2011, ACADEMIC PRESS, pages: 253
HUAWEI ET AL: "Text proposal for TR 36.888 on coverage improvement", vol. RAN WG1, no. St Julian; 20130128 - 20130201, 19 January 2013 (2013-01-19), XP050663498, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_ran/WG1_RL1/TSGR1_72/Docs/> [retrieved on 20130119] *

Cited By (21)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10200839B2 (en) * 2014-03-21 2019-02-05 Alcatel Lucent Method and apparatus for low cost machine type communication
WO2017036328A1 (zh) * 2015-09-01 2017-03-09 中兴通讯股份有限公司 发送、接收低时延业务的配置信息的方法和装置
CN105916172A (zh) * 2016-04-07 2016-08-31 上海华为技术有限公司 一种信息上报的方法、终端设备及系统
CN105916172B (zh) * 2016-04-07 2019-08-20 上海华为技术有限公司 一种信息上报的方法、终端设备及系统
US10588103B2 (en) 2016-04-11 2020-03-10 Qualcomm Incorporated Synchronization for standalone LTE broadcast
WO2017180395A1 (en) * 2016-04-11 2017-10-19 Qualcomm Incorporated Synchronization for standalone lte broadcast carrier
CN108886763B (zh) * 2016-04-11 2023-03-31 高通股份有限公司 用于独立lte广播的同步
CN108886763A (zh) * 2016-04-11 2018-11-23 高通股份有限公司 用于独立lte广播的同步
US10368329B2 (en) 2016-04-11 2019-07-30 Qualcomm Incorporated Synchronization for standalone LTE broadcast
EP3843351A1 (de) * 2016-04-11 2021-06-30 QUALCOMM Incorporated Synchronization für einen alleinstehenden lte rundfunkträger
US11405937B2 (en) 2017-05-03 2022-08-02 Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy Sharing of radio resources between MTC and non-MTC using sharing patterns
EP3619992B1 (de) * 2017-05-03 2021-01-13 Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy Gemeinsame nutzung von funkressourcen zwischen mtc und nicht-mtc unter verwendung von gemeinsamen mustern
CN110603825A (zh) * 2017-05-03 2019-12-20 诺基亚通信公司 使用共享图案来在mtc与非mtc之间共享无线电资源
CN110603825B (zh) * 2017-05-03 2022-11-29 诺基亚通信公司 使用共享图案来在mtc与非mtc之间共享无线电资源
WO2018203898A1 (en) * 2017-05-03 2018-11-08 Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy Sharing of radio resources between mtc and non-mtc using sharing patterns
WO2019029283A1 (zh) * 2017-08-11 2019-02-14 中兴通讯股份有限公司 一种解调参考信号的配置方法和装置、设备、存储介质
WO2020019210A1 (zh) * 2018-07-25 2020-01-30 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Mtc系统的物理信道传输方法、装置及存储介质
US11843933B2 (en) 2018-07-25 2023-12-12 Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd. Physical channel transmission method and device for MTC system, and storage medium
WO2020190818A1 (en) * 2019-03-15 2020-09-24 Novinium, Inc. Fluid injection system with smart injection and receiver tanks
US11611201B2 (en) 2019-03-15 2023-03-21 Novinium, Llc Fluid injection system with smart injection and receiver tanks
US12015254B2 (en) 2019-03-15 2024-06-18 Novinium, Llc Fluid injection system with smart injection and receiver tanks

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US11102772B2 (en) Method and terminal device for allocating resources in a plurality of subframes
US20240121793A1 (en) Communication system, base station and communication terminal
US12069660B2 (en) Infrastructure equipment for determining whether a communications device is within a radio coverage area
JP6580795B2 (ja) 短縮された送信時間間隔を有するダウンリンク動作
US10123320B2 (en) System, method and base station for allocating resources in a plurality of subframes
EP2869491A1 (de) Verfahren, Kommunikationssystem und Steuerungsknoten zur Unterstützung von Maschinentypkommunikationen (MTC) in einem drahtlosen LTE-Netzwerk
JP6546607B2 (ja) 無線通信システムにおいて競合ベースリソースを用いたスケジューリング要求伝送方法及びそのための装置
US10383155B2 (en) Method and apparatus for performing sidelink transmission based on contention based scheduling request in wireless communication system
TW201808051A (zh) 設備到設備通訊系統中基於優先順序的資源選擇
WO2016175398A1 (ko) 무선 통신 시스템에서 경쟁 기반 자원을 이용한 상향링크 데이터 송수신 방법 및 이를 위한 장치
WO2019080837A1 (en) SELECTING AND CONFIGURING A SET OF PUCCH RESOURCES
US9084251B2 (en) Communication units, integrated circuits and methods for supporting a virtual carrier
US9655103B2 (en) Method and apparatus for communicating in an increased coverage area to a wireless communication unit
AU2017237734A1 (en) Improvements on co-channel sidelink LTE V2V and DSRC communication
US9131368B2 (en) Method and apparatus for communicating in an increased coverage area to a wireless communication unit
CN110583085A (zh) 同时接收多个下行链路共享信道
KR20160114606A (ko) 통신 디바이스 및 방법
JP2024504596A (ja) ワイヤレス通信のためのグループリソース共有
WO2018180151A1 (ja) 通信システム
US11751282B2 (en) Activating sidelink relay MAC-CE
WO2022056665A1 (en) Voice communication reliability and latency optimization by time division duplex and relay
EP2696640B1 (de) Kommunikationseinheiten, integrierte schaltungen und verfahren zur unterstützung eines virtuellen trägers
KR20210078521A (ko) 무선 셀룰러 네트워크 내의 전력 최적화된 데이터 송신을 위한 방법

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20131031

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: BA ME

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20151107